Obama's Gaza silence 'disappoints' Palestinians

"When it comes to foreign affairs it is particularly important to adhere to the principle of one president at a time."

That is US President-elect Barack Obama's position on the Gaza conflict, and it is raising the ire of some in the Arab world.

The White House is still shying away from calling for an "immediate" ceasefire in Gaza, saying that any end to the violence must be "sustainable".

And the current commander-in-chief, President George W Bush, has again emphasised Israel's right to defend itself.

"All of us, of course, would like to see the violence stop, but not at the expense of an agreement that does not prevent the crisis from happening again," he said.

There is a chorus of countries pushing for an immediate ceasefire, But Mr Bush is looking for something more.

"I know people are saying let's have a ceasefire, and those are noble ambitions, but any ceasefire must have the conditions in it so that Hamas does not use Gaza as a place from which to launch rockets."

The State Department says the US is pressing for a ceasefire with three main elements: ending the rocket attacks, opening the crossings into and out of Gaza and addressing the issue of tunnels into Gaza.

But it will soon be Mr Obama who will have to deal with one of Israel's deadliest attacks against Palestinians in decades.

Until today, Mr Obama has not spoken about the violence in the Middle East, but even now he is not saying much.

"There are delicate negotiations taking place right now and we can't have two voices coming out of the United States when you have so much at stake," he said.

One of the Hamas leaders, Khaled Meshaal, has been taunting the incoming US president.

"Mr Obama, your beginning is not good," he said over the weekend.

At the United Nations in New York, the Palestinian Authority's Foreign Minister, Riad Malki, urged Mr Obama to make a strong statement as soon as possible.

He also criticised the President-elect for making statements about the Mumbai terrorism attacks but remaining silent on Gaza conflict.

"[I am] disappointed really that President-elect Obama refused to comment on the situation in Gaza despite the fact that he commented on the situation on the bombing in Mumbai in India," he said.

"We expected him really to be open and responsive to the situation in Gaza."